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Title: Listening to Waves: Engaging Underrepresented Students Through the Science of Sound and Music
Music is a central part of adolescent life, and the connections between music, science, and math are vast and deep-rooted in history. In particular, the relationship between sound and the science of waves. This positions musical sound as an ideal avenue for students to explore and connect with science. Listening to Waves (LTW) is a program that introduces adolescents to the physics and technology of music and sound with the goal of improving their attitudes toward science. For this, LTW creates web applications designed to explore and create sound in a playful manner and integrates those applications with hands-on exploration of the physical sonic world. In the case study described in this article, LTW partnered with a large middle school serving low-income and underrepresented students, trained the teachers to use the web applications and associated curriculum (Minces 2021), and worked directly with eighth-grade student participants. Students enjoyed the program and participated enthusiastically. Pre-post surveys indicate that program participation improved the students’ attitudes toward science, including their intention to pursue a science career and their perception of themselves as capable of doing science.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1657366
PAR ID:
10335192
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Connected science learning
Volume:
3
Issue:
4
ISSN:
2475-8779
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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